Unconditional Love | Devotions to Produce Spiritual Growth

...with Diane K Hiltz Chamberlain

Part One...

Whose approval are we seeking today? Are we working, to seek the approval of man or God? In John 5:41, Jesus is saying to the religious leaders…“I receive not honor from men.” In other words, Jesus was more concerned about receiving His Father’s approval, rather than the approval of men. Why do we work so hard, beneath a heavy burden, to gain man’s approval, when there is a God who already accepts us for who we are? In fact, He accepted us thousands of years ago, as He gave up the One, who was very precious to Him; that we may understand His love and forgiveness.He is already reaching out to us, when others walk away but yet we choose to work so hard, to gain approval, from those who turn away from us. Do we do this because we cannot accept rejection? Maybe so, but when we work for love in this way; then we are not experiencing a genuine love. When we have the assurance within our hearts that God is there…waiting to love and accept us each day, for the person we are; then nothing else in this world will matter. We need to slow down and weigh the difference between man’s approval and God’s unconditional love and when we do this; then our eyes will be opened, to a real love that will never walk away or abandon us. We need to ask ourselves this question today…why would God create us in His image, if He wasn’t able to love us and accept us, throughout our entire life? In this world we live in, we are judged by our appearance and who we are but with God, all we have to do is be the one He created us to be. God doesn’t look at the physical or emotional scars that we bare but rather, He looks at the need of the heart. In this life, we will have friends and acquaintances, which come and go throughout our lifetime but God will always remain, no matter what happens. We may miss the love and hugs that come from a personal friend but God’s arms are always open to us and He will never stop reaching out to us, even if we have moments, when we turn our backs on Him. Are you looking for someone who will accept you, for the person you are? Just look up into the heavens because God not only created you through His love but His love for you, will always continue to endure, even into the life to come.

Part Two...

Today, as I have been listening to some music, while spending some quiet moments alone with God; I began to think on how easy it is to see God, as we see others. We can be so used to people mistreating us and never loving or forgiving us; that we can easily compare God’s true love for us, to a worldly form of love. As we begin today, I would like to share a Bible verse with you, from John 3:17, which says… “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Even though this verse deals with salvation; I also believe that it can refer to the great love that God has for us. Do we realize that if God wanted to; that He could’ve condemned us from the very beginning? After all, He is the God of this universe and He has the power to do whatever He desires but you know what…His love for us, was much greater than all the sin of this world. I don’t know about you but after learning this; I could never find anyone that could compare to this kind of love. Many times, while walking down a road of discouragement and hopelessness, we can find it so easy to say to ourselves… “Well…God must not love me; otherwise, He would come and rescue me from these painful moments.” I have come to see that the circumstances we face in life can become a thick and dense fog that can attempt to make us feel abandoned by God but if we were to slow down and allow ourselves to connect with a god that loves us so much that He was willing to die in our place; then I’m sure that we would see a glimpse of light, even in the midst of what seems to be total darkness. As I was doing some writing on a webpage the other day, I began to think on how easy it is for us to see God, in the way we see others in this world and once we begin to see God with a worldly eye; we also begin to lose hope, of anything ever going right. Today, we need to begin our day, by looking for God in a new light… a light that is there to remind us that He is someone that will never stop loving us…no matter what we’ve done in life. When we can see God, for who He really is; then peace will begin to replace anxiety and from there, we will begin to feel the presence of God surrounding us, during these difficult times, rather than experiencing loneliness and a fear of being abandoned in life.